Separation processes are commonly used to isolate components of multi-component fluids in a variety of technology areas. For example, blood components are often separated from whole blood for transfusion or therapeutic purposes. Apheresis is one example of a blood separation process in which components are separated from whole blood.
In some separation processes, the purity of the components being separated from a multi-component fluid may be important. For example, some apheresis processes are performed to collect a target component from blood, e.g., platelets, for later therapeutic use(s). In these separation processes, it may be important to collect as much of the target component (e.g., platelets) as possible with as little of the other components (e.g., white blood cells) as possible. Providing mechanisms in the separation process to control the purity of a target component being collected may be useful.
Additionally, separation processes, such as an apheresis process may be performed on a donor in real time. It may therefore be preferable to a donor to have the process completed as quickly as possible. There is therefore a need to perform separation processes that are efficient and collect a component product that is as free of other components as possible.
Embodiments of the present invention have been made considering these and other considerations. However, the problems discussed above do not limit the applicability of the embodiments of the present invention to other applications.